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<h2> How to use Audio and Video</h2>

<p> There are several different ways to use auido and video in Lessons.
(Actually, embedding can be used for applications other than audio 
and video, e.g. Adobe PDF files. However other applications depend
upon the user having appropriate browsers and plugins. If yoiu choose
to embed content other than audio and video, please work with your
users to verify that they can access the content.)

<ul>
<li> Upload a file. In this case Lessons will choose a player to show
the file. The player depends upon the type of file and the browser.
In order to get the best results on a variety of devices, 
we recommend using MP4 format. For best use on portable devices, the
file should be prepared with software that specifically optimizes for
those devices. For audio, we recommend MP3, although WAV is also widely
supported.</li>

<li> Enter a URL for a file stored on the web. This should produce
the same result as uploading the file through Lessons.</li>

<li> Enter a URL for a video sharing site, e.g. Youtube. Lessons can
recognize URLs for most common video sites, and add appropriate players.
Most video sharing sites have options in the player to give you the 
URL for the video. Simply using the URL that shows in the bar at
the top of your browser may not work.</li>

<li> Enter an "embed code" or "widget code" for a video sharing site.
Most video sharing sites have options in the player to give you an
appropriate embed code. Many sites will give you both a URL and an
embed code. You might try both to see which works better. Other things
being equal, we recommend using the URL.</li>

</ul>
</p>

<h2> Setting the size </h2>

<p> After doing <b>Embed Content on Page</b>, you will probably need to use
the <b>Edit</b> button to adjust the size. The size starts out
300 pixels high and the full width of the window. This size should
let you see the content, but you may need to adjust it to match the
size of your movie or Flash program.

<p> For images, we recommend setting either width or height and leaving
the other blank. The browser will pick an appropriate size for the one
you left blank.

<p>Some players will stretch or cut cut off the image if you don't set
the right size. Older copies of Windows Media Player (e.g. on Windows
XP) seem particularly prone to this. So for movies, it is safest to
adjust the size to match the actual size and shape of the movie.

<h2> Where File Uploads Go </h2>

<p>The "Upload file" feature will normally put files in a separate
folder for each instance of the tool (i.e. each button in the left
bar). If you prefer to organize the files yourself, you might prefer
to upload your file using the Resource tool and get them organized.
Then you can use "Choose Existing File" to put the file on a page.

<p> In previous versions of Lessons, URLs were stored as files. URL's are stored in a subfolder
called <b> urls </b> of the unit's folder.

<h2> Accessibility </h2>

<p>If you are concerned about <b>accessibility</b> for handicapped
users, please make sure you use the <b>Edit</b> button and insert textual
descriptions for images and multimedia objects. You may want to
consider creating a separate page that presents the content in a more
accessible form and providing a link to it. One way to do this would
be using <b>Add Subpage</b>.

<h2> Helping your Users </h2>

<p> Unfortunately the ability to play movies, Flash, etc, tends to
vary from browser to browser. You may want to create a unit that
has one of each type of file you're going to use. That way students
can make sure that they have the right plugins installed at the
beginning of the course.

<p> However you can simplify things for your users by picking
types of video that are most widely supported. Modern browers 
generally have good support for MP4. Lessons also has good
support for Flash video (FLV), but it will not work on many 
portable devices, so MP4 is preferable where possible.

<h2> Problems we've seen </h2>

<ul>
<li> The Macintosh Windows Media player will sometimes give you a blank
image unless the file is public. You can set files public in the
<b>Resources</b> tool using <b>Edit Details</b>. If you have a number of files that
need to be public, you can set an entire folder public.
<p>
<li> Some players will not play content if you are using an https: URL
and the site you're pointing to does not have a proper certificate
installed.
<p>
<li> Increasingly, browsers will give warnings or simply refuse
to play video unless all content
on the page uses https: URLs. Files that are stored on Sakai will
automatically be served with an appropriate URL, but if you enter
any URLs for yourself, you shold be careful about this.
<p>
<li> With Safari on the Macintosh, if you edit a Youtube video, and
change the URL, when the page updates the player isn't there. If you
refresh the page it works fine. Everything works fine for normal
users.
<p>
<li> On Windows, users may need to adjust the secuity settings in
Internet Explorer. For some player types, Active X needs to be
enabled. You may not get any sign that this is the problem with IE,
just an empty box where your content should be.
<p>
<li> If a plugin needs to talk to the user, it may fail. E.g. after
installing Acrobat, the first time you run Acrobat, you need to accept
the license. With Firefox you are prompted to do this. With Internet
Explorer, it simply gives you an empty box where your content should
be.
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